This invention relates to connector termination tooling and, more specifically, to tooling for use with a prime mover (such as a bench press) for terminating a flat cable with mass termination insulation displacement connectors.
Mass termination insulation displacement connectors have come into increasing use because of the great savings in the labor and time they offer in comparison with the previous method of stripping the insulation from each individual conductor and applying a crimp terminal to the bared end of each. Mass termination connectors have been specifically designed for use with a flat cable wherein a series of regularly spaced conductors are embedded in a planar sheet of insulation. Such connectors typically include an aligned base and a cover with a series of regularly spaced metallic terminal elements carried by the base and extending toward the cover. The leading end of each element is bifurcated and sharply pointed for piercing the insulation of the flat cable and engaging a corresponding conductor. The base and cover are joined at each end by a post for holding the base and cover in an insertion position so that a flat cable can be inserted between the terminal elements and the cover. Examples of such prior art flat cable connectors are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,106,838 and 4,188,083. These connectors can be applied adjacent the end of a length of flat cable when an end termination is desired or they can be applied intermediate the ends of the cable when a daisy chain termination is required.
Such prior art flat cable connectors are typically used with a press carrying tooling have a connector holder opposing a reciprocal ram carrying a termination die for pushing the cover and base together thereby terminating the flat cable. The desired end termination is one in which the ends of the conductor in the flat cable do not extend from the connector. This reduces the hazard of subsequent short circuits and shocks to personnel and equipment, as well as enhances the appearance of the completed termination.
One way to accomplish this is to provide a cable stop on the side of the connector holder opposite the direction of cable insertion. Trimming of the excess portion of the cable may be required after termination. Trimming is very difficult and tedious to do properly, and it may cause adjacent conductors to contact one another if the trimming is performed improperly.
Proposed termination tooling for use with a bench press includes a cable end stop and a cable clamp for retaining the cable against the clamp. The clamp and stop are mounted on a slidable table for moving the clamp, stop, connector and cable, as a unit, from a loading position to a termination position. Such tooling is suitable for terminating an end of a cable in only one orientation and, in use, requires the time consuming steps of clamping and unclamping the cable. Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,540.